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RiverwalkHealth

Sep 8, 2014

Buyer Beware

People take
herbals and dietary supplements to stay healthy; it doesn’t always work.

Nearly half
of all adult Americans take herbal and dietary supplements, presumably in order
to get or stay healthy, but new research finds many of them may be doing themselves
more harm than good.

Liver injury
caused by herbals and dietary supplements increased from 7% to 20% in a U.S.
study group over a ten-year period, according to a study
published in Hepatology, a journal of the American Association
for the Study of Liver Diseases.

Despite
popular belief, bodybuilders and endurance athletes aren't the most affected.
Liver injury caused by non-bodybuilding supplements occurs more often in
middle-aged women and more frequently results in death or the need for
transplantation than liver injury from bodybuilding supplements or conventional
medications."While many Americans believe supplements to be safe,
government regulations require less safety evidence to market products than
what is required for conventional pharmaceuticals" said the study's lead
author, Dr. Victor Navarro of Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia.

Medical
evidence shows that supplements are used more often by women, non-Hispanic
whites, those over 40 years of age and those with more advanced education. Data
from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) III indicate
that multivitamins, minerals, calcium and fish oils are the most commonly used
supplements.

The study
examines hepatotoxicity due to supplements compared to medications, enrolling
839 patients with liver injury between 2004 and 2013. Liver injury cases
included 45 caused by bodybuilding supplements, 85 attributed to
non-bodybuilding supplements, and 709 due to medications.The research
team determined that among cases enrolled, liver injuries from herbal and
dietary supplements rose to 20% during the study period. While bodybuilding
supplements caused prolonged jaundice (median 91 days) in young men, nofatalities
or liver transplantations occurred.

Death or
liver transplantation occurred more frequently among cases of injury from
non-bodybuilding supplements, 13%, than from conventional medications, 3%.
Liver injury from non-bodybuilding supplements was more common in middle aged
women.Navarro and the other authors of the study said the public needs to be
aware of the potential dangers of using dietary supplements and advise that
supplement producers, government agencies, healthcare providers and consumers
work together to improve safety